1. Field of the Invention
The instant invention is related to a sports boot and is especially intended for glide sports such as roller skating, in-line roller skating, ice skating, or snowboarding, or, in other words, a boot that has to simultaneously fulfill the contradictory requirements of retention as well as flexibility for the ankle in pre-determined directions.
2. Description of Background and Relevant Information
For skating, walking, or hiking, it is desirable to have ankle retention in the transverse direction, as well as a certain pivoting or bending freedom in the longitudinal direction, at least towards the front.
In snowboarding and in certain types of in-line roller skating, it is desirable, on the contrary, to have a certain possibility for bending the ankle in the transverse direction, whereas bending in the longitudinal direction is more limited.
In order to overcome these problems, these boots generally include a rigid frame, constituted by at least one rigid sole portion associated to a heel reinforcement affixed to said sole.
Such boots also include, as the case may be, a stiff collar intended to surround the user's ankle so as to maintain such ankle in the transverse direction.
Boots for in-line roller skating are generally constituted as a plastic shell that includes a shell base surrounding the user's foot and a collar journalled on the shell base, as well as a detachable liner arranged within the shell.
Such a rigid, massive, and visible frame provides the boot with a stiff, hot, and uncomfortable appearance which one wishes to avoid.
Some boots, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,466, are constituted of an upper made of a flexible material and are manufactured according to techniques that are known in flexible sports boots and they are adhered inside a rigid, external frame.
The disadvantage of such a construction is that the external frame remains visible and assembly by adhesion of the flexible upper to the rigid, external frame is delicate and cannot be detached. The same comment also applies to sports boots meant for walking that comprise so-called "shell" soles.
In addition, the assembly of a flexible structure to a rigid structure by means of other traditional methods such as stitching is also difficult to obtain due to the differences in hardness between the materials.
Other skating boots having a "soft", i.e., flexible, external appearance are constituted by a rigid structure and a flexible upper connected together by a method known as injection on the upper which hides the rigid structure. This type of technique is extremely complex and expensive, and in addition, it cannot be disassembled.
Furthermore, the majority of known sports boots are each specific to a given sport and they cannot be used or transformed easily with a view to being used for another sport.